All things being equal, there's no evidence that there's any difference in the natural cycle of hair loss for people with either straight or curly hair. We all shed hair at various times in the hair growth cycle but having straight or curly hair doesn't have much of an impact either way.
The rate of balding is influenced more by genetics and hormonal factors than by hair texture (curly vs. straight). However, some studies suggest that people with straight hair may appear to lose hair more noticeably than those with curly hair, simply because curly hair can create volume and cover thinning areas better.
Naturally straight hair is mostly thin which means that as people age, they will most likely lose their hair soon.
So, if you have the X-linked baldness gene, you're likely to go bald. If you have one or more of these other baldness genes too, you're even more likely to go bald! This is why if your dad is bald, you may go bald as well. Your dad probably passed some of those non-X-linked baldness genes onto you.
You're less likely to experience male pattern baldness if you're of Chinese or Japanese descent. Male pattern baldness doesn't typically affect Native American, First Nations and Alaska Native peoples. You're more likely to have male pattern baldness if you have a family history of it.
East Asian men (such as those of Chinese and Japanese ancestry) are next on the list of those least likely to experience hair loss. For example, while around half of Caucasian men will experience some degree of androgenetic alopecia, a 2010 study of Chinese men found only about 13% did.
The short answer is that genes inherited from both sides of your family affect your chances of going bald. While we often hear that a man's chance of going bald is inherited from the maternal side, that's only partially true. The estimates vary, but about 60-70% of balding risk can be explained by someone's genetics1.
Caucasians Lose The Most Hair
After Caucasians, people of Afro-Caribbean heritage tended to experience the next highest levels of hair loss, with Asian men having the lowest hair loss rates.
You might be able to reverse hair loss, or at least slow it. With some conditions, such as patchy hair loss (alopecia areata), hair may regrow without treatment within a year. Treatments for hair loss include medications and surgery.
If the above applies to you, congratulations - you have 4C hair. Although this hair type is the weakest for breakage and dryness, the incredible volume allows for a range of hairstyles that will last for days, as well as holding protective hairstyles for months.
Hair morphology is one of the more conspicuous features of human variation and is particularly diverse among people of European ancestry, for which around 45% of individuals have straight hair, 40% have wavy hair, and 15% have curly hair.
Genetic and hormonal factors are to blame, particularly sensitivity to dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
While younger respondents tended to rate men with hair as more attractive, older respondents showed a greater appreciation for bald men. This shift likely reflects a broader understanding of attractiveness that extends beyond physical traits to include personality, confidence, and life experience.
By the time you turn 30, you have a 25% chance of displaying some balding. By age 50, 50% of men have at least some noticeable hair loss. By age 60, about two-thirds are either bald or have a balding pattern. While hair loss is more common as you get older, it doesn't necessarily make it any easier to accept.
Busting the Myth
Ultimately, hair loss isn't as simple as inheriting it from one side of the family. Instead, it's a blend of genetic influences that come from both parents.
The good news is that if you've noticed thinning hair or balding and are in your 20s, treatments are available that can slow or stop the process.
Since men are constantly producing testosterone throughout their lives, they are also constantly making DHT, and so it makes them more likely to lose their hair than women, who do not have a similar genetic disposition to hair loss.
Asian hair is by far the thickest of all hair types – 80 - 120 µm in diameter. Because of its extra diameter, it is also the strongest, and most resistant to damage.
According to anthropologist and professor Ashley Montagu in 1989, many East Asian people and African populations such as the San people are less hairy than Europeans and West Asian peoples.
Unfortunately, the only way to know if you're susceptible to male pattern baldness is to wait and see. Frontal balding and temple hair loss are usually the first signs of male pattern baldness, and it can start at any age from late adolescence onwards. Two patients in the early stages of male pattern baldness.
An “m shaped” hairline is a common feature in men's hair. Although it is sometimes indicative of a condition called male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia), this is not only the case. For around half of all men, the m shaped hairline is a sign of a fully mature hairline.